One of my favorite "tricks" is to use the normal stuff you do all the time...dishes, folding laundry, etc...and incorporate other exercise into it. I do squats while folding laundry. Rather than walking around my house, I jog. Sometimes on the phone, I rise up and down on my toes to work my calves.
I love finding any opportunity to be more active, so the idea of having more activity, either the stuff ALREADY built in my day like Lori mentioned, or stuff I add into my everyday activities like the folding/squats, is so great!
Okay, so I just wanted a bit of confirmation if I'm getting this right or not..
So, say my GF & I both weigh around 200lbs, that means our bodies burn 2000 calories a day? So, does that mean if we eat between 1200-1300 calories/day, that we'll burn an extra 800 calories (2000 - 1200), plus whatever exercises we do? For example, if we do a 30m hip hop abs vid twice a day (morning&eve) which burns about 400 cals/hour, that combined with that 800 extra burned, we'd burn a total of 1200 calories/day? If so, it would only take 3 days to drop a pound, & we'd average 1.5-2lbs loss per week, correct?
Is that right, or did I miss something?
Because if so, that's an exciting prospect!!
While on paper it works that way, our bodies are weird and wonderful things. And sometimes weird and annoying things. And unfortunately weight loss isn't always that mathematical and linear. You can do everything right for a week, and for some reason the scale won't show a change, some weeks. There are a dozen other things that affect your weight ... and especially that affect us as women. Your period, ovulation, the weather (seriously - the barometric pressure can affect how much you weigh), how much salt you ate in the last 72 hours, how much exercise you've gotten (serious, hard core exercise causes your muscles to swell and retain fluid for up to 48 hours), etc., etc., etc.
Plus, even when you're working out, you don't JUST lose fat. Everyone loses lean muscle when they diet. If you're not working out at all, or working out doing just cardio, you're going to lose more lean muscle mass. If you are working out and doing strength training, you'll lose LESS lean muscle, but there might be days that the scale doesn't move because you've achieved a zero balance between building/maintaining muscle and losing fat.
On top of that, how many calories you burn at a given activity will vary from day to day. You can't count on always burning 400 calories doing the same thing. And in fact, if you do the exact same exercise every single day (or twice a day) your body will become more efficient at doing that exercise, which means eventually you'll burn fewer calories doing the same thing. It's possible that after 3 weeks you'll no longer burn 400 calories doing the video, but you'll only burn 300 calories, because your body has learned to adapt. That's why you should always mix up your exercise if you want to keep losing weight.
On top of ALL of that ... as if it's not enough, right? ... at 200 lbs it's entirely possbile that 1200 calories might not be enough food for you and you'll stall out on your weight loss because you're not eating enough. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but it all goes back to that thing about your body becoming more efficient. If your body knows that you're only going to give it 1200 calories even though it NEEDS more, then it's going to learn to hold on to everything you give it in the most efficient way possible. So by eating too little, you're telling your body to go into "survival mode" and to NOT lose weight. So ... better to eat a little more (especially if you're working out hard) and lose a little more slowly, and be more consistent with it, than to freak out your body.
And finally, the closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it will be to maintain a rapid weight loss. Ideally to be healthy you should lose about 1% of your body weight per week. So as you get closer to your goal of 135, it'll be harder and harder to lose 2lb per week ... and you're more likely to easily lose 1.5 lb per week, or even 1 lb per week. Again, on averge, and not counting all those other things I mentioned above.
Isn't this fun?
So ... at it's heart, yes, 3500 calories = 1 lb. If you can burn 7000 extra calories a week (whether through diet or by exercise or some combination) you *should* in theory, lose 2 lb per week.
It's a good goal to go for. Just don't be disappointed or feel like you've failed or give up if it doesn't work exactly that way. Our bodies are more than machines - they're intricate biological devices that have been programmed over thousands and thousands of years to SURVIVE. And that makes losing weight often a very tough and confusing thing to do.
Yes, it does seem there's always a 'but'; some catch that makes me understand why something sounds too easy or good to be true (because it is). All wonderful & annoying things to take into consideration.. ;] Thanks for the info!
What would you suggest for strength training? All I'm doing on a daily basis is crunches, bicep curls, & lunges because I have such a tiny space to work out in! Until the next quarter starts up at college, I wont have a gym (weight room or otherwise) to go workout at.. What if I mix it up with a couple different workout vids that work different parts of your body & muscles? At least for now, in this weather & without a gym, that's the best I can do from day to day; just switch out Fat Burning Cardio with Total Body Burn or Hips, Buns, & Thighs, etc.
I feel like I'm getting enough food though.. I just eat when I'm hungry, & it seems to be doing my body pretty good. How do I tell if my body needs more than 1200 calories a day? Because I feel satiated (sometimes even full) when I eat.
Does your weight ever just drop unexpectedly? I've been weighing in every day, & it's consistently been dropping, but I don't know if I should believe the numbers or not. Today was my official weigh in day, & my scale read 200 (even after several tries). I've heard that if you see a number two days in a row, you can consider it real, but I haven't seen any of my numbers two days in a row! Here's the numbers I've gotten: 204.8, ? , 202.6, 203.4, 202.4, 201.6, 200 .. What do you think? Maybe I need a new scale. It's my moms digital one, & we've had it a few years.. I think it might be safer with an old fashion scale (the one you step on & can see the weight rise from 0). Anyways, I'll be expectantly looking tomorrow to see what my weight decides to do.. who knows?
Oh gosh. I'm going to write another novel. I just know it.
Starting with your last question and working backwards: YES! I don't lose weight in a straight line. I lose in fits and chunks. I could lose 3 pounds one week, nothing for the next two. Then I'll lose 5 lbs in a "whoosh" then nothing for another week. It's not that I'm losing those pounds in that week, it just seems that my body works that way - it doesn't want to be linear. Story of my life!
It's also possible that since you're just starting out losing, that you're going to see a bigger loss at first. Some of that will be water weight as you elminate a lot of the salty processed things that you used to eat. But some of that will be an initial *rush* of fat loss. And that's normal for a lot of people. I don't know if I had it because I didn't start actively weighing myself and counting calories until I'd already lost a bit of weight. Knowing the way my body works now, I wouldn't be surprised if it worked that way for me, though.
Question #2 - how do you know when you've had enough? That's a hard one. The thing is that many of us, from years of eating badly, have screwed up our hunger receptors. I know that I had NO idea of what real hunger or real satiety felt like when I first started dieting. And when I first started I htink it freaked my body out a little. I think that kind of "intuitive eating" is ultimately the best, but sometimes at first you need to kind of override it a little to eat more or less ... just until your body and your hunger signals return to normal. I don't know your age, but I estimated it at 25, and the site I usually use (freediet.com) returned this for your current weight with no exercise (desk job):
Maintenance: 1948 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 1600 Calories/day
If I were you, I'd start at 1600 calories combined with your exercise and see where that gets you.
The biggest problem I see with starting at 1200 is that 1200 is the lowest you should go w/out medical supervision. Lower than that and it's pretty much impossible to get all the nutrients that you need. So if you stall out, or if you think you might need ot lower it more ... and you're already at 1200 ... where do you go? You have no other option. Also, if you start that low and are working out really intensely, I think you risk getting back into that "survival mode" I mentioned above ... where your body freaks out because you're burning SO many calories that it fights back by not letting anything go.
Ok, finally question 1. I work out at a gym, but I also travel a lot for business and I've learned a lot of resistance type stuff that is very effective. If you can, get yourself a set of resistance bands - they're pretty cheap at Target or any sporting goods store. They usually come with a booklet and a DVD that you can use to get started with. Then, aside from that, squats are awesome for the butt, thighs, back, calves ... pretty much your entire lower body. If you have a hard time with form, you can do them with a swiss ball against the wall. Then just do body resistance stuff - pushups (even off the wall or a desk or a bench), dips (off of a chair), stepups, lunges, etc. You can fill (or partially fill) 1/2 gallon milk jugs with water to make weights that you can use for bicep curls, military presses, etc. Or use the resistance bands, like I mentioned.
And def keep up the crunches and planks and things like that.
Hope that helps some! Sorry about the book I keep writing.
Chick in the hat ~LOL~I have 3 kids ages 8,10,& 15 That are super messy ~So They give me alot to keep up with & being home for there Christmas break Is a handful.Cleaning tornado? I Like that nickname!! it is so true~hahahahaha
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
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Lori, funny that you said you walk in your house. I started the C25K in my house, walking/jogging room to room, because at the time I didn't have running shoes, and didn't want to kill my knees, plus I didn't have any workout clothes that I felt comfortable wearing in public. So, eventually I did get real running shoes and workout clothes, and I no longer worry about anybody seeing me run, but I STILL like running in my house better than anywhere else. I've got the stereo cranked, the carpets are soft to run on, I've got a bathroom right there, and I can leave my water bottle on the kitchen counter, instead of having to carry it...what more could a girl ask for? lol. Anyway, just thought it was cool that I'm not the only freak using my house for a treadmill.
thanks lori for that info that was great....im visiting my baby in ohio for the first time in almost a year, and im so nervous about my weight, b/c i have gained since i last saw him....so that website really helps, b/c im trying to loose at least 20lbs before i see him mid february...
Angela85 Glad you can use that info girl! You look so pretty in your avatar picture(kinda like jordin sparks the american idol girl~she is sooo pretty & sweet attitude seems like)anyways, and hey if you do not quite make your goal He will love to see you regardless.Ohio Is soooooo cold in Febuary~Have fun warming each other up!hehehehe
